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Retiring GOP Congressman Becomes First to Back Hillary Clinton

US House of Representatives (WASHINGTON) – Rep. Richard Hanna of NY became the first Republican in Congress to say he would vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in November.

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In an op-ed piece, Representative Richard Hanna of NY cited Trump’s attacks on the parents, calling the candidate “deeply flawed in endless ways”, “unrepentant” and “self-involved”.

Hillary Clinton continued to add to her post-Democratic National Convention bounce, according to more polls out Tuesday, including one that even showed the former secretary of state competing in the reliably red state of Utah.

Hanna said that Trump is “unfit to serve our party and can not lead this country”.

Hanna, a three-term Republican Congressman from Trump’s home State of NY, in an interview to the same daily said he could never support Trump.

Hanna also specifically mentions Trump’s attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who delivered a powerful address at the Democratic National Convention last week.

“There has to come a point at which you say “enough”, Mr Obama said, addressing Republican leaders who he said have repeatedly denounced statements made by Mr Trump but who continue to endorse him for president. “I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing”, he wrote.

Trump, who has been criticized by fellow Republicans and others for responding too readily to opponents, declined to target Buffett personally for his comments: “There’s no counter-punch”. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, told CBS News on Tuesday that his father’s comments toward the Khans have been “blown hugely out of proportion”.

Trump, a former reality TV star, has troubled many in the Republican establishment with his off-the-cuff, often insulting style, and controversial policies including the proposed ban on Muslims and his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants.

At a rally in Nebraska, the “oracle of Omaha” said a monkey could pick better stocks than Trump.

He also has trailed Clinton in fundraising.

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Asked if he was anxious that his remarks would be met with backlash from fellow Republicans, Hanna told the Post Standard, “I can’t look back in my life when I leave this job and know that I didn’t speak the truth when it was important to do so”.

Paul Ryan